Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerA bill passed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate would require state workers to monitor child abuse complaints more closely.

TRENTON — State workers investigating complaints of child abuse would have to track cases more closely and report more statistics under a bill passed unanimously by a state Senate panel today.

Legislators and child advocates said the bill targets a "very urgent" problem — cases that fall through the cracks. They repeatedly referenced the recent death of Christiana Glenn, an 8-year-old girl in Irvington who died of malnourishment and complications from a broken leg, as something that may have been avoided with closer scrutiny.

The bill adds a third category for state workers classifying abuse reports. Currently the allegations can be filed as "substantiated" or "unfounded," an all-or-nothing approach that legislators said fails to account for cases that fall in gray areas.

Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer), the bill sponsor, said one of the key issues was that an "unfounded" label sometimes doesn't do justice to the nuances of the case — and it requires no follow-up, even when the same family is investigated multiple times.

That has to change, Turner testified, urging a return to a "common-sense, narrow" definition for "unfounded." The term should be reserved for reports with no merit whatsoever, she said.

"If we continue to pretend that our system is improving in an area in which these recorded statistics raise grave doubts, we will remain blind to the real risk to our children," Turner said.

The new category proposed by the bill, "not substantiated," means the investigation did not turn up the high level of evidence required for the state to take action, but it leaves the door open on the case if investigators get further information.

In addition, the Division of Youth and Family Services, which monitors the complaints, would have to track and annually publish the number of "unfounded" cases that later become "substantiated." Investigators looked into Glenn's case four separate times from 2004 to 2008, deciding each time that the child-abuse claims were "unfounded."

"The fact that it was unfounded once and then comes back doesn't appear to raise the standard of investigation," said Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of Advocates for Children of New Jersey.

Zalkind said she would support the bill (S1570), but that it needed more work before it goes up for a vote in the full Senate.

"Part of the reason it switched from three categories to two was that the middle ground became a dumping ground for cases where workers couldn't make a decision, and those cases piled up," she said. "I understand the intent, but the question about the quality of the investigation is still critical."

Lauren Kidd, a spokeswoman for DYFS, declined to comment on Turner's proposal because it is still pending legislation.

Lawmakers at the Senate health committee hearing, where the bill passed 10-0, indicated they would keep working on it to address some of Zalkind's concerns. Meanwhile, in the Assembly, Democrats plan to introduce a companion bill on Thursday.

"I think it's a response to a very tragic case," Zalkind said. "I think legislators are very anxious to see what they can do to make sure something like (Glenn's case) doesn't happen again."